Seatrade awards recognize excellence in maritime industry

SMEM is the region's premier exhibition and conference for the maritime sector, inaugurated by Chairman of Dubai World, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem earlier this week.

This year's top DIMAS award, the Seatrade Personality of the Year for West and Central Asia - which was won last year by Dubai World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem - went to Saleh Bashir K'aki, President and CEO of Vela International Marine Company.

The head of the Dubai-based firm was cited for leading his company to the forefront of advances in safety and environmental awareness, including the ongoing modernisation of the Vela fleet. Vela has six VLCCs on order with Daewoo of South Korea.

In his acceptance speech, Mr K'aki said:
"This prestigious award actually belongs to all Vela employees. With one of the best safety records in the industry, Vela's entire team, including R&D, continue to strive for new ways to be even more safe, reliable and efficient in our services."

The awards were presented by the Guest of Honour, Mohammad Souri, Chairman and Managing Director, National Iranian Tanker Company.
Seven companies from the UAE, Singapore and Oman were selected from a shortlist of 22 for the third edition of the awards.

The Dubai Cruise Award, sponsored by the Government of Dubai's Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM), went to Costa Cruises, which will homeport from the Dubai Cruise Terminal later this month.

A special award for Exceptional Merit was jointly won by the Higher Colleges of Technology's Abu Dhabi Men's College and the Abu Dhabi Ship Building.

The award for Safety and Quality in Shipping, sponsored by Dubai Drydocks, went to Saudi Aramco for the upgradation of search and rescue and firefighting vessels and related training facility.

Sponsored by Vela International Marine Ltd, the Technical Innovation Award was given away to Martek Marine Ltd. UK for its MariNOx marine diesel emissions monitoring and recording system, the first and only system to be fully approved in line with IMO regulations to curb air emissions from ships.

In the Environmental Protection category, sponsored by ABS, the honours went to Germany-based Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems GmBH, for its BilgeMaster, SludgeMaster and CombiMaster systems, designed to offer maximum protection to the ocean's ecosystem.
The scheme is fully supported and endorsed by DP World and Dubai Maritime City.